


Waiting for Lightning

by pallasfuriosa



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, F/F, Rating subject to change, Slow Burn, mostly beauyasha but other ships may appear as they fit, the mighty nein - Freeform, will update to reflect when appropriate
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-17
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-07 22:13:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26504956
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pallasfuriosa/pseuds/pallasfuriosa
Summary: Beauregard Lionett had no plans for college besides partying and running on the track team. That was until a mysterious woman on the rugby team entered her life. Now, Beau will endlessly pester her roommate, Jester, to find information about the enigmatic Yasha while juggling the demands of school, track, and her social life. What could go wrong?
Relationships: Beauregard Lionett/Yasha
Comments: 1
Kudos: 70





	1. I remember days when I was younger

**Author's Note:**

> Hey, this is my first fic in a long time. Critical Role is my latest hyperfixation, and like everyone, I have my own college au thoughts. Here's my take. This turned into a primarily beauyasha fic quickly, but I am definitely going to give the other Nein love and their own moments. I have no idea how long this will be or how consistently I will update it. Also, I know nothing about rugby or other sports in general. I'm sorry if that's your jam, but I'm not going to be super into the sports aspect. It's just a backdrop. Thanks. I hope y'all enjoy my take on this.

Beauregard Lionett, junior at the University of the Cobalt Soul and star of the track team attended every 6 AM weekend practice hungover. She said it was her secret weapon. The added pain from the pounding headache gave her an edge. (And turned her on a little, though she'd only admitted that to Fjord while quite tipsy.) This morning was no different, except the women's rugby team was practicing on the indoor field the warmup track circled. Beau was mid-stretch, jamming to her tunes, and checking out the women on the field, a state of being she rather enjoyed. 

Now Beau considered herself a bit of a Casanova. She had slept her way through most of the girls on the track team, and the soccer team, and half the sorority girls she partied with if she was being honest. So, she was sizing up the rugby team, looking for her next one-night stand when she saw the most striking woman.

Running drills across the field was a Norse goddess. A tall, muscular woman with hair that went from black to white tied back in a loose mess of braids. Beau couldn't see her eyes from this distance, but she had dark makeup all smudged around them. Beau could appreciate that aesthetic since she normally sported day old, messy eyeliner. The mystery woman also had a blue line inked from her lower lip down her chin and neck. Beau bit her lip wondering how far down that line went. Beau was so caught up in ogling the woman that she didn't notice Dairon was behind her until they smacked the backside of her head.

"Get your head out of the gutter, Lionett, and get on the track. It's time for training, not drooling over the other athletes." The assistant coach was already walking away before Beau could react.

"Hey! My head's here in the game, Dairon. I know what I'm doing. I'm the best for a reason, okay. Lay off for a minute, will ya?" Beau said as she stood up and jogged after her coach. Dairon had taken an interest in Beau during her freshman season on the team. They were a total hardass, and Beau would never admit it, but she would have washed out without their help. "I'll do my laps, okay. You don't have to tell me twice." And she took off before Dairon could continue telling her off.

Beau ran her laps, with her music turned up loud enough to compete with the sound of blood pumping in her head. Right now, it was Joan Jett. She kept stealing glances at that woman as she played on the field. Beau didn't know much about rugby, but she could still tell that the woman was good. She hadn't ever had the ball, but she had made successful tackles against most of the players who had possession of the ball. That woman was all muscle and ferocity, taking down opponents left and right. It was really fucking hot. 

Unfortunately, the rugby team's practice ended before the track team's. Beau watched the woman quietly gather up her things and head to the locker rooms, not talking with any of the other players. Surprisingly, off the field, the woman seemed demure and reserved, compared to the powerhouse she was on the field. Beau only focused back in on her laps once the woman was fully out of sight.

“Lionett,” Dairon called to Beau as she walked away from the track at the end of practice. “Meet me at 10:00 in the practice room for more training. It’s been awhile, and I’m worried you’ve gotten rusty.” They turned on their heel and marched away before Beau could respond.  
“Great, yes, Dairon, that fits perfectly in my schedule. Thanks for asking. You’re such a considerate coach.” Beau said to Dairon’s retreating back. She sighed and continued on to the locker room. She was already feeling the laps in her legs and more training with Dairon would just hurt more.

When Dairon had first taken an interest in Beau, she had been rather angry and troubled. She was getting into fights with her teammates and was close to being kicked off the team before they stepped in. Dairon had taken her to a small practice room and said, “Take a swing. Try and hit me. Take your anger out here, off the field.” So, Beau took a wild swing. Dairon easily sidestepped, so fast Beau didn’t even notice, and then followed up with a slap to the side of Beau’s head. “You’re sloppy, directionless. You need discipline and order. Again.” Beau swung out again, and Dairon raised their hand in an effortless block. “Better, but you’re still miles away. Try again.” Beau yelled in frustration. Why was her coach doing this? She closed her eyes and breathed out through her nose and took one more wild swing. To her surprise, this one connected with something soft, and she felt a small crack. Beau opened her eyes to see Darion staring back at her in shock, blood gushing from their nose.

“Oh my god, did I break your nose? Fuck, that’s cool. Ah, I mean, shit, fuck. Are you gonna kick me off the team?” Beau’s sudden joy at landing a blow on her coach was crushed as she remembered the reality. She had punched a school official, fuck. 

Dairon lightly touched the side of their nose and laughed. “That was good. A little wild, but when you focused, and let your anger slide away, you connected. You have potential, Lionett. And no, I’m not going to kick you off the team. I’m going to teach you to fight, properly, with restraint and focus.” 

Beau stood there, shocked. Fighting training? All she had wanted as a kid was for her dad to enroll her in karate or any martial arts, but he had refused on account of it being improper for a girl to learn to fight. “Really? What, that’s so cool! I can’t wait to punch things so good. This is gonna be sick,” Beau said, looking at her fists. She already felt so much cooler. 

“It’s not something ‘cool’ or something to be taken lightly. You need control and composure if you’re going to be successful on the team. It’s about discipline. Remember that, Beauregard.” Dairon opened the door to the practice room. “Every day after practice, we will meet for another hour, and you will learn. Now, get out of here.” With that Dairon turned on their heel and walked off down the hall. Beau was left standing, still in shock, feeling like her world had been shifted.

Beau slammed the door to her dorm open and tossed her gym bag in the general direction of her closet. "Morning, Jessie!" She called as she strode across the room to flip down in her roommate's bean bag. 

"Beau, why do you have to be so loud? It's the morning. It's time for sleeping. Do you even sleep, Beau?" Her roommate, Jester, groaned as she rolled away from Beau. 

"But, Jess, I brought pastries." Beau held up the paper bag, emblazoned with the emblem of The Slayer's Cake, the most popular bakery in Zadash. 

"Pastries?" Jester squealed and snatched the bag out of Beau's hand before leaping back onto her bed. "Beau, you're the best roommate ever. Thank you!" She rummaged through the bag. "And you got my favorite blueberry muffins? You really are the best."

"Ah, it was nothing really. The on-campus store is in between here and the track." It really wasn't, but Beau loved making Jester happy. She was the best friend that Beau had ever had. (Though she would punch out anyone who accused her of being soft like that.) “Come on, eat your sweets, I’ve got to meet Dairon again in a couple hours and we have to study with Fjord before then.”

Beau had met her wild roommate on move in day freshman year. She'd driven herself to school in her shitty, old Toyota Camry because her parents couldn't be bothered to give a shit about their only kid leaving for college. Her brother was born less than a year later, and Beau stopped wondering why they never gave a shit about her anymore. She had finally made it to her dorm to find a bubbly, little blue tiefling decorating one side of the room in pink, frilly things, and a tall, buff minotaur standing guard, arms folded. “Hey, ummm, I’m Beau. Your roommate, I guess.”

“Oh, hi! I’m Jester. And this is Bluud. He’s harmless. Bluud, get out of her way, so she can unpack. I can’t wait to be the best of friends. I’m an art major. What are you studying?” The tiefling, Jester, bombarded her with even more questions while they set up their room and ran out to get more supplies at the local Target. Beau was sure she was going to hate Jester, but after a few hours, they were good friends. And by the time they went to bed, Jester declared them to be best friends forever. They had been roommates ever since, so for now, Jester’s declaration was holding true. Beau couldn’t picture anyone else putting up with her shit, and no one else could handle Jester’s specific brand of wild. 

“Hey, Jess, I saw this cool chick at track this morning. She was practicing with the rugby team, and I’ve never seen her before. She had this really goth look with black and white hair and a chin tattoo. Have you seen her?” Beau began changing out of her running clothes into a different cut off t-shirt and sweats. 

“Oh, I think you’re talking about Molly’s new roommate. She just moved here from another school; I think. Her name is Yasha. I saw her briefly when I was at Molly’s last weekend.” Jester turned back to her vanity to finish putting on her makeup for the day. “She didn’t really talk, but yeah she looks really cool and really strong. Did you see her arms? Like, so nice.”

“Yeah, she was a powerhouse on the field,” Beau turned away from Jester to hide her excited expression. Jester knew who she was, and she was Molly’s friend. Beau and Molly may not always get along, but they still hung out with the same people. Beau would have a chance to meet her, to meet Yasha, then. “Yasha…” Beau murmured. The name was beautiful and strangely fitting for the woman she had watched on the practice field. Beau blushed as she thought about her. Beau was going to talk to her. Get her number. Maybe even court her. That last thought made her laugh; Beau hadn’t ever courted anyone. But that muscular, goth woman made her want to try, and Beau would try anything at least once.


	2. I ran fast like a river

Beau spent most of the next couple weeks thinking about Yasha. She saw her coming to and from practice, occasionally in the library, and across one of the campus lawns, picking flowers. Beau wasn’t sure that was what she was actually doing until she asked Jester.  
“Yeah, I asked Molly, and he said that she has a huge flower collection. They’re all in this big book she has. Isn’t that the cutest?”  
“Yeah, wow, that’s kinda weird. I mean it’s cool, but who collects flowers nowadays? That’s some old-timey shit,” Beau said. She was lying on her top bunk staring up at the glow in the dark stars on the ceiling. Jester had brought them out when they first moved in together, and Beau had arranged them so they matched the real constellations. They even had two moons stuck up there, one for Catha and one for Ruidis.  
“It’s not weird, Beau! It’s so romantic! I wonder who she’s picking them for? And Caduceus picks flowers for his teas, so you know someone who picks flowers.” Jester was sitting at her desk working on a painting project. Beau couldn’t see it well from this angle, but if she looked closer, she was bound to find at least a dozen dicks worked into the piece. It was some weird inside joke Jester had going with someone on campus. Beau didn’t pretend to understand why Jester did it, but she could appreciate it.  
“Oh, like Cad isn’t just the weirdest guy. But yeah sure, it’s pretty romantic and all that. You know, I’m just not really a romance person. It’s squishy and gross.”  
“Beau. Love isn’t gross. Love is the best thing in the world. Don’t you just want someone to sweep you off your feet and woo you and make you feel special? Romance is amazing, Beau.” Jester placed the back of her hand against her forehead and pretended to swoon.  
“You know I’m just not made for that kind of stuff, Jess. Nothing against it, it’s just not for me.” Beau twirled a loose piece of hair around her finger as she stared at the ceiling. Her laptop and linguistics homework lay abandoned beside her. “I just can’t get her out of my head, Jess. What the fuck is with that?”  
Jester looked up from her painting and sighed at Beau, “You should just talk to her, Beau. Come to Molly’s party with me. He promised that Yasha will be there. Please, Beau. You’ve just been so moody lately, and you’re not as fun.”  
Jester was right. She had been lying around and mooning over Yasha. Even Dairon had noticed during one of their sparring sessions and asked what was on Beau’s mind. She had deflected, figuring Dairon wouldn’t care about her romantic issues. “Fine, I’ll go. But Molly doesn’t even like me. Why is he helping set us up? Does she even like girls?”  
“I don’t know. He just said something about Yasha needing some fun, and that your brand of fun could be good for her. It’s not a big deal, Beau. Molly is our friend, and I’m sure he does like you. You’re just kinda… prickly.” Jester scrunched up her nose as she said that. “It’s fine, Beau. We’re going to have a good time. You have to let me help pick out your outfit! You have to look killer, that way Yasha won’t be able to take her eyes off of you!”  
“Yeah, sure Jess. Whatever. I have full veto power though, so don’t go too crazy if you want me to wear what you want.” Beau peeked over at Jester to see her sticking out her tongue. Beau flipped her off and laughed. “Glad that’s settled. I still have Deepspeech notes to transcribe. Why did I choose that language anyway?”  
“I don’t know Beau, but you were set on it.”  
“That, uhh, that was a rhetorical question, but whatever. I’ve got to get to class, anyway.” Beau jumped off her bunk and haphazardly threw her laptop and notebooks in her bag. There was probably a pen in there somewhere.   
“Okay Beau, say hi to Fjord for me!” Jester turned back to her painting as the door closed behind Beau.   
\--

Fjord slid into the seat next to Beau in the back of the lecture hall right as the bell tolled the top of the hour. He sighed and slid farther down in the seat. Beau chuckled at him and finished pulling out her notes and getting a new page set up for today’s Political History of Wildemount lecture. “Jester says hi. You’re cutting it kinda close there, aren’t ya, bro?”  
Fjord shot a glance at the students sitting near them. Beau noticed a slight flush across his cheeks. It was probably about her Jester comment. “I’m still trying to keep a low profile after the whole Avantika and Uk’otoa situation. I want everyone to forget about that before I really try to get back in the scene.”  
“Dude, no one is gonna forget. This school isn’t that big, and besides, you talk with a different accent now. People are gonna notice. Just own it and fuck ‘em.” All of the last year, Fjord and his ex, Avantika, had been involved in one of the weird pop-up churches that just exist to indoctrinate college kids. Most of them were just dedicated to the Platinum Dragon or whatever, but this one was exposed as a legit cult planning to raise a minor Betrayer God. Fjord and Beau and their friends had exposed the cult and gotten Avantika expelled. Fjord was still embarrassed about the whole thing and had fessed up a lot of things to the group over the summer, including his natural accent. So, things were kind of weird for him this semester.  
“As much as I would love to do that, I still need a degree, and so do you. I think we’ve pushed our luck far enough between this and everything going on with Caleb. I would love to keep my head down and just get out of school as smoothly as possible.”  
“You’re no fun,” Beau slugged him in the shoulder and grinned when he winced. “Have it your way, Fjord, but you’re fucking going to Molly’s party with us. I need my wingman. Jester says she’s going to help me, but we both know that as soon as someone passes out, she’s gonna be drawing dicks all over their face.” She scribbled some quick notes about the defeat of the Julous Dominion before turning back to Fjord.  
Before Beau could continue their conversation, her named was called by Archivist Zeenoth, the professor who taught the class and Beau’s academic advisor. “Beauregard, perhaps you would like to answer the question I posed to the class. That is, if you were listening.” He looked across the lecture hall at Beau with his head cocked to the side and an annoyed look on his face.  
“Yeah sure, no problem. You were asking about the creation of approved worship within the Empire. It dates back to the defeat of the Julous Dominion and subsequent faith-based rebellions that led to Emperor Mannfried Dwendal to seek to outlaw all religion. Well, obviously that went tits up for him, so he decided which deities were okay to worship. Is that a good enough answer or do you want me to list the deities too?” Beau smirked at Zeenoth and watched the vein in his head pop. She loved fucking with him. It was just too easy. Zeenoth had no faith in Beau’s potential as a student, which she used to her advantage all the time.  
“No, Beauregard. That answer was sufficient. I am sure everyone in this class is aware of which deities are approved for worship within the Empire’s boundaries, and if not, they should study it before the test on the early history of Wynadir and the Marrow War.” Zeenoth went back to his lecture without so much as a second glance at Beau.  
“How do you do that?” Fjord whispered to Beau. “You always know the answers to his surprise questions before he asks them. Also, what are the approved deities?”  
“I read the notes before class, and I’m still taking notes right now. I’ll write them down for you later. Oh, by the way, the theme for Molly’s party is slut-tember. Whatever the fuck that means.”  
Fjord shook his head and chuckled. “I’m sure it will be a sight to behold. I’ll come to help you with your endeavors, of course. Saturday night?” Beau nodded. “Sounds good. And I’ll see if I can drag Caduceus along. The more, the merrier, right?”  
“Yeah sure, you’re really hanging out with him more now that the other shit is over?” Beau took a side-long glance at Fjord to gauge his reaction. Cad had taken Fjord under his wing after all the shit had gone down, like he’d try to take all the rest of them in after they met.   
“Yeah, well since I moved into the house with him, it’s been nice. He makes tea all the time, and we talk about things. You should come over more.” Fjord blushed slightly as he talked about Caduceus. “Well, yeah. Everything’s good and – “The bell sounded before he could finish that thought, and before Beau could say anything else, Fjord was bolting out the door.  
“Well, nice chat Fjord. Thanks for waiting for me. What a good friend you are,” Beau shouted after him as she gathered her own things up and headed off to the library for the afternoon.

\--

Beau climbed down from her top bunk at 4 AM. She couldn’t sleep and was going to do what she always did when she couldn’t sleep, run. It was raining, and Beau thought she had heard thunder early while she was tossing and turning. She pulled on some shorts and laced up her sneakers. As she slipped out the door, careful not to let it slam and wake Jester, she put in her headphones and loaded her late-night run playlist. Having a playlist for this purpose might be a sign of insomnia, but Beau was ignoring that for the moment. She just needed to clear her head.  
Beau jogged across the soggy lawn in front of the dorms and started her familiar, well-trod path. She had run this loop for the past three years, so much that she felt there should be a line across the ground marked “Beau’s run.” They could point it out on campus tours. She picked up speed to push up the long hill through campus in the direction of the arboretum.  
When Beau was a freshman, she discovered the arboretum on a drunk, late-night walk after her first frat party. Too many guys had been trying to get in her pants, so Beau punched a guy and got kicked out. She had stormed off and got lost, and she found the arb tucked into a back corner of campus. The little bit of nature felt calming, and for the first time in a long time, Beau sat under a tree. Now, she stopped under that tree every time she ran through.  
Her feet pounded on the pavement in time with beat of her music and her pulse. Beau was running as hard and fast as she could, and she was just absolutely drenched from the rain. The past couple weeks had been so much. And at the forefront of that was Yasha. Beau didn’t even know her, but she couldn’t get her out of her head. The added pressure from Zeenoth to do well in her classes or else, and from Dairon to do well in track and their private lessons threatened to crush Beau. Everyone’s expectations of her, whether they expected Beau to fail or succeed, were stifling. So, she pushed her body farther towards burnout.  
Beau stumbled to a stop a little way from her tree, her breathing ragged. Someone was already sitting under it. She ripped her earbuds out, prepared to scream at whoever was sitting under her tree. However, she stopped and took a second look at the person. Her heart skipped a beat. It was Yasha. She was sitting under the tree, wearing all black with her head tilted towards the sky. Beau froze in place, just watching her. Yasha didn’t move for several minutes, although it could have been seconds or hours. Beau was stricken, watching. Yasha just sat there, head and hands tilted up, as if she was praying. Her black and white hair was slicked back to her head and back. Beau could barely see her through the dark and the rain, but she swore that her mouth was slightly open, which lead Beau to think about the chin tattoo. Which lead Beau to think about other things.   
She took a step forward, maybe to approach Yasha and speak to her or just to continue her run. Her foot crashed down on a branch, snapping with a sound as loud as thunder. Yasha’s head snapped up, eyes open and flashing. Before she could find Beau’s shape in the darkness, she was gone. Beau ran hard and fast, as fast as she could away from that enigmatic woman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter! More characters and late night running. I really enjoyed writing those conversations between Beau and Fjord and Jester. And Yasha! Soon we'll get to actually meet her, the party is coming up. Please let me know if you're enjoying it so far.


End file.
